Don Granatstein says the gay-themed Parliament House resort is about to be reborn, with the help of a reality TV show about drag queens.
Yes, Granatstein and his wife Susan have been planning the rebirth of Parliament House for years. But it appears...

This Thursday night, CNBC is running a new episode about one of the most notorious Florida fraudsters in recent years, Miami businessman Claudio Osorio.
This blogger will also be featured for the CNBC show because I covered the Osorio scandal for three...

The owner of Parliament House, a gay-themed resort on Orlando’s west side, has emerged from bankruptcy after shedding millions in debts.
The resort has plans to refinance, renovate and expand, said R. Scott Shuker, the resort’s bankruptcy attorney....

The remarkable economic gains from America's energy boom — consumer savings from cheap oil and natural gas, a revival of domestic manufacturing and an upswing in jobs and revenue — will be squandered if something isn't done soon about the abysmal...

Casey Anthony attorney Jose Baez, along with the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Internal Revenue Service, should not receive anything from a settlement in her bankruptcy case, according to a trustee's report filed recently in federal court.
...

Broken budget vow
Not even the administration staffers who wrote Barack Obama's proposed budget think a Republican Congress will treat it as more than fireplace kindling. The fat document released Monday isn't a reliable guide to the future of federal...

Last month, Syriza won Greece's national elections. Now, the left-wing party wants to ease austerity bailout measures imposed on Greece by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A move, some speculate, that...

Federal agents seized property in Orlando, Windermere and Aventura on Monday, outlining allegations of a Ponzi scheme that ripped off Italian investors.
Attorneys representing victims in civil lawsuits said the scheme includes at least 100 people, mostly...

Kissimmee-based Visitors Flea Market has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following a three-year lawsuit with Coach over alleged sales of counterfeit purses and other items.
The flea market filed for bankruptcy partly to preserve a pending sale of the...

Funky Monkey Inc., the operator of three restaurants in the Orlando area, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing up to a million in debt.
Eddie Nickell, president and founder of the company, said he intends to continue operating the three...

As painful as it may be, it’s time to admit it. Michael Vick isn’t a complete scumbag.
He’s actually become an upstanding guy. It’s time to let go of the hatred and forgive his past.
I say that knowing my dogs may never speak to me...

A severely mentally disabled woman, raped and impregnated in a state-supervised Orlando group home 12 years ago, would get $950,000 from state taxpayers if Florida lawmakers approve a new relief bill.The bill, introduced this week, would provide money...

For more than a decade, court records show, Scott Campbell has been victimizing women.
In 2003, the Kissimmee man who portrayed himself as a high-powered music producer started swindling them out of their money, according to court records.
Jeannie...

Nearly half of all households in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties struggle to cover the basics of food, shelter, medical care and transportation — putting them one missed paycheck or one unexpected bill away from financial free fall, new research...

The owner of a building in downtown Orlando that recently housed Liquid nightclub has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, apparently to stall a foreclosure sale by First Southern Bank.
The property is 13 W. Pine Street, a two-story commercial brick bui

Wisconsin-based restaurant chain Culver's will soon have its first Central Florida location, in Clermont at the corner of Johns Lake Road and U.S. 27.
Local businessman Mike Ladisa just purchased 1.29 acres for $830,000 to build his franchise location of...

Orlando businessman Nik Patel's companies are being handed over to a fiduciary to continue liquidating his assets, about five weeks after Patel was arrested on charges of loan fraud.
The receiver, Michael Nanosky of Janus Hotels & Resorts in Boca...

Workers are dismantling and removing Orlando's giant Merita Bread sign, a neon icon that served as an unofficial gateway to Orlando for generations of Interstate 4 commuters.
For more than 50 years, I-4 drivers passing through Orlando were hit by the...